Category: MLB

Earlier this week, the Mets were hinting at Ryan Helsley potentially tipping his pitches, but the veteran right-hander fully believes that's the cause of his issues since arriving in Queens.

“I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything, but I feel like my stuff’s too good to get hit around as consistently as it has since I’ve been here,” Helsley told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. “We’ve played mostly teams in the hunt, and a lot of teams nowadays will have guys who look specifically for those things. It’s pretty glaring and obvious when I’m doing it.” 

After a few good outings since being traded to the Mets at the trade deadline, the 31-year-old has struggled mightily. In just his last five outings, he's allowed seven runs across 3.2 innings. His last appearance, Tuesday against the Phillies, saw Helsley allow the tying runs in the eighth inning, and he could only get one out.

That outing prompted manager Carlos Mendoza to intimate that teams have a tell on Helsley. 

"Too good of a stuff for them to be taking some really good swings on fastballs, get really good takes on sliders. We got to look back and see what we’re missing," Mendoza said at the time. "For teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something is going on here. We have to figure it out."

“A hundred’s not going to play the same when guys know it’s coming,” Helsley said.

Helsley told Will Sammon of The Athletic that this isn't the first time he's battled tipping issues. When he was with the Cardinals last season, he ran into some trouble with it, especially against the Cubs. And he actually knows what the problem is, but fixing it won't be easy. 

He said the tip is a subconscious habit and he can correct it in bullpen sessions, but it hasn't yet translated to the mound consistently, especially with the pitch clock and being unable to step off.

“I think I know how to fix it," Helsley told The Athletic. "So it’s just being able to enforce that and that being my mental norm versus what I was doing to get my body to accept that and reinforce that.”

Entering Thursday's series opener against the Marlins, Helsley has pitched to a 10.38 ERA. He allowed only 12 runs in 36 appearances (36 innings) with the Cardinals this season, but has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) in 11 games (8.2 innings) with the Mets. The apparent pitch tipping issues and his own command problems have compounded what has been a tough stint with the Mets, but he hopes it's only a matter of time before he can be effective again.

“My stuff is as good as it’s ever been on paper,” Helsley said. “It’s kind of an anomaly and weird in itself because as a pitcher, when you feel locked in and you feel great, you expect to put up good numbers. Obviously, I came here to try to help the team win but I haven’t done that yet. So that part stinks. But I’m trying to get this locked in and be someone who can help.”

Slide over, Steve Garvey. It appears another former Major League Baseball slugger with Southland ties will run for political office.

Mark Teixeira, who batted a robust .358 in a two-month stint with the Angels in 2008 before signing a longterm lucrative contract with the New York Yankees, announced his campaign for Texas' 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House on Wednesday.

Teixeira, an avowed conservative who has lived in or near Dallas much of his adult life, said he is "ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty."

Garvey is also a Republican, and he lost in a landslide to Democrat Adam Schiff for California's open seat in the U.S. Senate last November. Despite being a beloved former Dodgers great, Garvey, 75, held few public events and struggled to gain traction with voters in a state that has not elected a Republican to statewide office in nearly two decades.

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Unlike Garvey, Teixeira, 45, is running in a heavily Republican district that Chip Roy won by 26% of the vote in November. Teixeira's announcement follows Roy’s decision not to seek re-election because he is running for the office of the Texas Attorney General.

Teixeira, a former first baseman, played 14 seasons for four MLB teams — the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Angels and Yankees. He retired after the 2016 season with 409 career home runs.

The Angels acquired him from the Braves in a trade late in the 2008 season, and he helped them to the only 100-win season in franchise history by hitting 13 home runs and driving in 43 runs while batting .358 in 54 games.

Teixeira also performed well in the American League Division Series, batting .467 with a .550 on-base percentage, although the Angels fell in four games to the Boston Red Sox. He was a free agent after the season and Angels owner Arte Moreno offered him $160 million over eight years before retracting the offer two weeks later.

Several other teams made similar if not more lucrative offers, and Teixeira signed with the Yankees for $180 million over eight years. The slugging switch-hitter helped New York to the 2009 World Series championship, leading the AL with 39 homers and 122 runs batted in.

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The Yankees defeated the Angels in the AL Championship Series before beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The following season, Teixeira spoke highly of the Angels despite leaving Anaheim for the greener pastures of New York.

“I hope there are no hard feelings between Arte and myself,” Teixeira told The Times' Mike DiGiovanna. “I loved that organization. Arte, [Manager Mike] Scioscia, it’s first class, top to bottom. But your wife and kids being happy is more important than your personal desires.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga will not pitch for the rest of the season due to right flexor strain, manager Aaron Boone announced ahead of Thursday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox.

The right-handed veteran underwent tests last week after reporting soreness in his right elbow/triceps area, and the injury will end his season. However, as of now, the team is hopeful he will not need any surgery or procedure. The Yanks hold a club option for the 2026 season for the 30-year-old.

Loáisiga's arm issue came two days after he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while dealing with back stiffness that sent him to the IL on Aug. 3. 

Injuries have been a big issue for the righty of late, as the same injury limited him to just three games during the 2024 season. An elbow procedure this past March kept him out of action this year until May, and the back issue landed him on the IL earlier this month.

In all, he made 30 appearances out of the Yanks' bullpen this season and pitched to a 4.25 ERA and 1.483 WHIP, surrendering 15 runs (14 earned) on 34 hits and 10 walks with 25 strikeouts. 

Ryan Yarbrough out of the bullpen

Yarbrough, who has been out since mid-June with a right oblique issue, is set to return to the active roster, and the plan is to use the left-hander out of the bullpen, Boone said Thursday.

In his last outing at Triple-A, he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts. In three appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Yarbrough has pitched to a 4.09 ERA and 0.909 WHIP with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

The 33-year-old made 16 appearances (eight starts), pitching to a 3.90 ERA and 1.175 WHIP in 55.1 innings with 49 strikeouts to 17 walks at the big-league level this season. Opponent batters have had slightly better luck against him when he came on in relief, as Yarbrough's allowed a .720 OPS in 65 plate appearances out of the bullpen, compared to a .691 OPS in 161 times up as the starter.

Kyle Schwarber's historic night powers Phillies to 19-4 drubbing of Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

As Kyle Schwarber goes, the Phillies go.

That’s been the case all season, as Schwarber’s historic production has lifted the Phillies to the top of the NL East standings.

It was certainly the case on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Schwarber became just the 21st player in baseball history to hit four home runs in one game as the Phillies clobbered the visiting Braves 19-4 to begin this four-game series.

Let’s run through the superlatives for Schwarber.

It was just the fourth four-home run game in the Phillies’ 143-year history. Schwarber joins Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Chuck Klein and Ed Delahanty.

He now has 49 home runs this season, a new career-high. Those 49 homers are the second most in a single-season in franchise history. Only Ryan Howard has more (58 home runs in 2006). Schwarber is on pace for 59 home runs this season.

Schwarber’s nine RBI on Thursday are the most ever by a Phillie in a single game. He raised his season total to 119, the most in baseball. He trails only the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (50) in home runs.

The MVP chants aren’t going away any time soon.

“It was pretty cool,” Schwarber said in the understatement of the evening. “To go out there and do that… it was a fun night, great atmosphere. Wouldn’t want to do it with a better group of guys than we have here.”

Schwarber rode a 0-for-20 skid into this series opener against Atlanta. He was front and center in the Phillies’ offensive frustrations at Citi Field earlier this week.

Schwarber struggles, the Phillies struggle.  

Schwarber erupts, the Phillies erupt.

He got the home team on the board in the first inning with a 450-foot solo shot to the second deck in right field. Schwarber’s second homer of the night came during the Phillies’ six-run fourth inning, a towering 2-run blast tucked inside the right field foul pole. He secured the hat trick with a three-run home run to left center field in the 6th inning. Then with 41,000 plus on their feet in the seventh inning, Schwarber delivered a line drive to the rightfield seats.

“It just happened to cooperate,” Schwarber said. “I got some pitches, put some good swings on it and that was the result. It’s fun, it’s exciting. You can’t expect that you’re going to go up there and hit a home run every time, right? That’s not the game. You just got to be able to go back and you got another game tomorrow and stay with your same approach.”

The only real disappointment on this night was the fact that Schwarber didn’t get number five in the eighth inning. With Braves infielder Vidal Brujan pitching, Schwarber flew out to shallow left field. He left the field to a standing ovation.

“You have the opportunity for a fifth one and I stink against a position player,” Schwarber said. “I was in the cage (indoor batting cage) and I asked ‘how many guys have hit five?’ and no one said anything and I was like ‘well ok that answers that question’. I have a mental block somewhere in my head that I’m not very good against a position player.”

“I thought he was going to do it,” Rob Thomson said of Schwarber’s attempt at a fifth home run. “I really did. There was no doubt in my mind… You know it’s one of those things. He’s in a groove right now, tonight anyway. It was good to see, because we needed it.”

Schmidt was the most recent Phillie to hit four home runs in a game, accomplishing the feat at Wrigley Field in 1976.

“Let me say this about Kyle Schwarber,” Schmidt said Thursday night in a phone interview with Michael Barkann and Ricky Bottalico during Phillies Postgame Live. “He’s one of the best hitters in the league, he has great mechanics. He has a great attitude, the team loves him. If I had to pick any swing to have it would be Kyle’s… he’s on his way to a MVP for sure.”

Schwarber accounted for four of the Phillies’ franchise-record seven home runs on the night. Bryce Harper (22nd of the year), J.T. Realmuto (11) and Max Kepler (14) also got in on the act. Harrison Bader finished a home run shy of the cycle, going 4-5 with a double, triple and three runs scored.

The Phillies scored a season-best 19 runs on 20 hits, 11 of which went for extra bases. They feasted on Braves starter Cal Quantrill early and often, tagging him for nine runs in three and one-third innings. Quantrill now has a 15.55 ERA in three starts against the Phillies this season.

The blowout win over Atlanta coupled with the Mets’ loss to the Marlins increased the Phillies’ lead over New York in the NL East to five games.

Thomson is proud of the way his club responded after being swept by the Mets.

“A huge character win,” Thomson said. “The radio stations were wanting fans to boo us and all that stuff. But that’s alright… You got to grind through it. You got to make your own breaks. You got to just fight… They’ve been through this before. They’ve been through 162-game schedules and the ups and downs of it and they just keep moving forward.”

The night started ominously, with Aaron Nola surrendering three runs on three hits and two walks in the first inning. But after putting the Phillies in that early 3-0 hole, Nola settled down in a big way. He limited the Braves to one hit over his final five innings of work. After taking 37 pitches to get through the first inning, Nola needed just 58 pitches to cover innings two through six.

“I was just trying to really, really get in the zone,” Nola said of his turnaround after the first inning. “Really needed to focus on getting that leadoff guy out and trying to make my pitches. My command wasn’t really there tonight. But after that first (inning) I got some quick outs which helped.”

Nola allowed four earned runs in six innings in his third start since returning from a three-month stint on the injured list.

He had four strikeouts on the night, raising his career total to 1,845. He passed Cole Hamels to move into third place on the Phillies career strikeout list, trailing only Steve Carlton (3,031) and Robin Roberts (1,871).

Not bad company for the longest-tenured Phillie, who was asked if he considers himself one of the best pitchers in franchise history.

“Oh gosh, no,” Nola said. “I mean there’s been some really, really great pitchers to come through here. I just want to keep making starts and have good years and be healthy and put the team in a good chance to win every time I’m out there.”

The Phillies offense didn’t waste any time picking Nola up, scoring five runs against Quantrill in the first inning. They added a run in the third before putting the game out of reach with six runs in the fourth.

It was a team effort for the Phillies bats. Every starter had at least one hit by the fourth inning. But just as it’s been all season – one hitter stood apart from the rest.

Schwarber’s historic power display won’t soon be forgotten.  

“It was amazing,” Nola said of Schwarber’s performance. “The guy is awesome. I don’t know what else to say. The guy is having a year for the ages. It’s awesome to watch. He’s such a hard worker, a great teammate, a great guy. For him to do something like that, especially at home too, it’s special.”

Speaking in the Mets clubhouse on Thursday afternoon, Jonah Tong described the awe-struck feeling he had meeting manager Carlos Mendoza at this year’s spring training in Port St. Lucie.

He was finally able to muster up the words “Hi, I’m Jonah, nice to meet you.”

Now, just a handful of months later, Tong is ready to properly introduce himself to Mets fans everywhere as he makes his major league debut on Friday night against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field.

Just 22 years old, Tong – ranked by SNY contributor Joe DeMayo as the top pitching prospect in the Mets organization, ahead of names like Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat – is ready to live out something he’s thought about for quite some time.  

“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid,” Tong said. “You always try to put yourself in the best possible chance to do that. If you were asking me at the beginning of the year if I ever thought this was going to happen, I would have probably told you exactly what I’ll tell you now. I’m just going to be where my feet are. I think everything else is going to take care of itself. I’m just forever grateful to be here for the opportunity.”

Originally a seventh-round pick of the Mets in 2022, Tong has quickly risen through the Mets system, and he's been almost unhittable at every step along the way. He began this season with Binghamton and simply overpowered Double-A hitters, pitching to a 1.59 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 102.0 innings.

And after two scoreless outings with Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets called the young right-hander up to the majors, where he’ll pitch alongside McLean, his former teammate in the minor league ranks.

“He’s done a heck of a job,” Tong said of McLean, who threw 8.0 scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night and has had an incredibly smooth transition to the majors. “I was watching it last night trying to find somewhere to eat, and I was like ‘Yep, that’s Nolan.” He’s incredible, and I think I’m just going to go out there and be myself, and I have confidence that that’s going to be enough.”

While Tong is certainly hoping to follow in McLean’s footsteps, he’s not ready to start making any sweeping, big-picture predictions about his future in the Mets rotation, though many fans are already dreaming about the start of the next wave of dominant, young Mets starting pitchers.

Instead, Tong’s focus will be on Friday night, as a host of friends, family, former coaches, and 40,000+ Mets fans will watch him throw his first pitch in the major leagues.

“I’m just getting ready to start tomorrow,” Tong said, “and I think everything after that will take care of itself.”

Mets right-hander Frankie Montasneeds surgery for his torn UCL, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

Heyman notes that it will "very likely" be a full Tommy John surgery for Montas. That comes with a recovery timeline of 12-to-18 months, which would likely keep Montas out for the entire 2026 season.

News of Montas' UCL injury first came out on Aug. 23, when manager Carlos Mendoza described it as "pretty significant."

Montas has a $17 million player option for the 2026 season that he will almost certainly exercise.

It was a lost season for the 32-year-old after he signed with New York during the offseason.

He missed the first half of the year due to a lat injury, and struggled upon his return -- posting a 6.28 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 38.2 innings while getting demoted to the bullpen.

Even if the Mets are without Montas for all of next season, their rotation should be in strong shape.

David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, and Kodai Senga are all under team control for next year.

Meanwhile, Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong will be under team control and not dent the payroll much since neither player is close to salary arbitration.

Other possibilities for the 2026 rotation include Brandon Sproat and Christian Scott, with Scott expected to be a full go for spring training after missing this year while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, Jung Hoo Lee show Giants have core worth bulding on originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The groundout that helped Logan Webb get through the seventh inning Thursday would have seemed unimaginable for the Giants a few months ago, and not just because of the obvious fact that the scoop came from Rafael Devers, who began his season in Boston and spent part of it pushing back on the idea of becoming a first baseman.

Early in the year, Willy Adames was so shaky defensively that members of the organization wondered how long the most expensive shortstop in franchise history would actually be able to stay at the position. 

And yet there he was on Thursday, ranging well into the hole and then making a leaping throw to try and get the speedy Nico Hoerner. When the throw arrived in time, Devers made the type of scoop you would expect from someone who has been playing first his entire life. 

Webb raised both arms, pounded his glove and then pointed to Adames, who was in the middle of everything the Giants did in a 4-3 win. 

Adames’ second multi-homer game in a week kept the Giants in it all afternoon, and when Jung Hoo Lee lined his first career walk-off into right field, Adames was the first to greet Christian Koss at the plate.

JHL CALLS GAME WITH HIS FIRST WALK-OFF 👏 pic.twitter.com/KHtNWndySW

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 28, 2025

The shortstop channeled his inner Tim Flannery and arrived at the same time as a wide throw, and then he made a beeline for Lee, who knew what was coming. 

BE CAREFUL WITH HIM 😅 pic.twitter.com/aPo0qhGOvB

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 28, 2025

Lee has been waiting for nearly two seasons for his first big league walk-off, and earlier this year, he watched the Giants, in a much different place, pick up nine of them in the first half. He was often the one throwing the hardest jabs in the celebrations, and as he ran toward the outfield grass Thursday, he felt revenge might be coming. 

“I was trying to run away from the boys,” Lee said later, smiling. 

All of it looked familiar. 

This is who the Giants were until July, when they forgot how to win at home and forced their front office into a deadline sale. For weeks now, the attention has turned to 2026 and the decisions that president of baseball operations Buster Posey might have to make. Posey, though, probably doesn’t think there’s too much heavy lifting to be done.

You don’t have to squint much to see the makings of a team that can reach the postseason with this core. A night after Devers hit two homers, Adames did the same. Devers has 27 on the year and Adames is at 24.

Leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos and cleanup hitter Matt Chapman should both reach 20 homers. Lee already has 10 triples and 30 doubles, which is more his game, and in the second half, he has looked like a .300 hitter in the big leagues. 

What happened in July and early August? The Giants still are not sure. But they’re happy to at least look more dangerous during this five-game winning streak. 

“Look, these are guys we signed for quite some time here and we expect production,” manager Bob Melvin said of Adames and Devers. “And Chapman behind them. I thought of that today, too, when they ended up (hitting) two-three-four … these are guys that we expect to be in those types of spots for years to come. The way Rafi is swinging right now, we’ll try to get him up there as much as we can in the two-hole, and Willy has been the homer guy here for a little bit now.”

Adames has 15 of them in the last two months, and he has a real shot at becoming the first Giant since 2004 to reach 30. His numbers should end up in a really good place in Year One as a Giant, which is part of what makes their overall position — 66-68 — so baffling. 

The Giants just took back-to-back series from the Milwaukee Brewers and Cubs, both of whom are headed for the postseason. But they’re still 6 1/2 out of a playoff spot themselves with just 28 games to go. 

“We are a pretty good team,” Adames said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Giants Postgame Live” after the win. “We have really good talent in the clubhouse. When we’re playing our best baseball, we’re one of the best teams in the league and this series says it all. 

“I feel like we’re resilient, we’re not going to give up, and we’re going to continue to make adjustments we have to as a team and come out here and play our best baseball.”

The Giants haven’t given up on that mindset leading to a miracle down the stretch, but at the very least, they would like to finish strong. They’d like to show that there’s enough talent already here that Posey should continue to be aggressive in the offseason, and during this series, they did that.

“It feels like old times,” Melvin said as he talked of the strong overall day and late rally. “We were doing that a lot early on and it just felt like any time we got in that position earlier in the season, we were going to win a game. Here at home, in a close game, that was kind of our calling card.”

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In his first game of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse after suffering a right thumb sprain, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez sustained a broken left pinky finger when he was hit by a pitch on the left hand on Wednesday.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said it is a "small fracture" to the pinky finger and that Alvarez, who was with the club at Citi Field, would see doctors on Thursday. But the early reports were positive about a quick return.

"Just gonna wait for the inflammation to come down, probably two, three days, and then we'll get him going again," Mendoza said ahead of Thursday's series opener against the Miami Marlins. "This should be relatively short. But, again, obviously, it's a little bit of a setback to what the original plan was."

While the catcher appears to have avoided the worst-case scenario, the manager said they aren't going to put Alvarez in a position where he is uncomfortable as he plays through some pain with injuries to both hands.

"As tough as he is, he's human," Mendoza said. "We gotta get him to a point where it's manageable because now we're talking about the receiving hand, too."

When it came to the original injury -- a right thumb sprain he suffered sliding into second base during the MLB Little League Classic on Aug. 17, the manager said the early reports on his throwing were good, but "we gotta wait and see when it happens in real action."

"When he's gotta do the transfer and put the ball in the air as quick as possible and put something on the throw," Mendoza said, adding there was no issue with him throwing the ball back to the pitcher during his five innings behind the plate.

Batting for the third time in his first rehab start, Alvarez was plunked by an 89 mph sinker. Clearly in pain after getting hit, Alvarez took his time getting to first base and was met by trainers who took a look at him before he was removed from the game for a pinch-runner.

The 23-year-old's hands have taken quite the beating recently. He started the season on the IL with a wrist injury and lost time to a thumb injury that required surgery last season.

Mendoza said the three hand injuries have been tough on the young catcher, who is frustrated by his bad luck.

“Also, understanding there’s still hope and feel like you can get back this year and help us win baseball games, but definitely you don’t want to be on the IL, you don’t want to be missing time,” he said. “In Alvy’s case, it’s been hard for him. Our job is to continue to support him and continue to stay positive with him.

“He’s very strong mentally, physically, and he’ll get through this.”

This is another tough setback for the backstop, who came back from a demotion to Triple-A swinging a hot bat, slashing .323/.408/.645 with four homers, six doubles, one triple, 13 RBI, and 14 runs scored in 71 plate appearances over 21 games. He continued that with a double in his first at-bat with Syracuse on Wednesday.

Francisco Alvarez has left the game for Triple-A Syracuse after being hit on the hand pic.twitter.com/Y53td17K2t

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 28, 2025

Top Red Sox pitching prospect Payton Tolle to make MLB debut Friday: Reports originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Alex Cora played coy when asked by reporters Thursday in Baltimore who would be making the start for Boston on Friday night at Fenway Park. As it turns out, the Red Sox manager had good reason.

The Red Sox will hand the ball to their top pitching prospect, Payton Tolle, to make his MLB debut on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the news, with MassLive’s Christopher Smith following up with the same information.

Red Sox are calling up Payton Tolle, their top pitching prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 28 overall, to start Friday night, per multiple sources including MLB's Ian Browne.

He'll make his MLB debut opposite Paul Skenes 👀 pic.twitter.com/hdx7cbodeI

— MLB (@MLB) August 28, 2025

The Red Sox needed a starter for the game after pushing Dustin May back a day to Saturday.

Making the debut even more of a spectacle: The Pirates’ starter will be Paul Skenes, who’s the runaway favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award this season. Skenes leads the majors with a 2.07 ERA in his 27 starts.

A 6-foot-6, 250-pound left-hander, Tolle is the No. 2 Red Sox prospect on MLB Pipeline and the top pitching prospect. He was drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft out of TCU by the Red Sox and began this season with high-A Greenville before getting promoted to Double-A Portland in late June. Tolle dominated Double-A batters, going 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA and 0.741 WHIP in six appearances (five starts) with 37 strikeouts in 27 innings.

A few weeks ago, he moved up to Triple-A Worcester, where he made three starts and posted a 1-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and 0.867 WHIP, striking out 17 batters while walking just two. After allowing six runs (five earned) in his first Triple-A start, he allowed just one run over 10 innings in his last two starts.

Payton Tolle's latest outing for the Triple-A @WooSox:

🔴 Fans 9+ for the sixth time this season
⚪️ Raises K/9 to 13.1 (5th best in the Minors)
🔴 Allows 1 hit, 0 walks

The @RedSox No. 2 prospect has allowed one run over his past 14 innings. pic.twitter.com/hGCB3W36ec

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2025

In his collegiate career, Tolle was a two-way player, belting 13 homers with 50 RBIs and an .898 OPS in the 2023 season for Wichita State. He struggled offensively after transferring to TCU, posting a .182/.303/.327 slash line, but he also earned Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors, setting his professional course to the mound.

One thing Tolle will not be expected to give the Red Sox is length. He’s yet to pitch more than five innings in any start after getting the promotion to Double-A, averaging 4.2 innings per start since his first start with Portland on June 28. But he should be given a bit of a soft landing for his MLB debut, as the Pirates rank dead last in runs scored (3.6/game) and team OPS (.657) this season.

Tolle will be the fifth major prospect to make his MLB debut for the Red Sox this season, following Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Jhostynxon Garcia.

There was a palpable buzz inside Citi Field on Wednesday night as the Mets faced the Phillies.

Yes, it was due in part to the fact that New York was going for (and eventually securing) a three-game sweep over their division rival in what has all of a sudden become a tight race for the NL East title.

But what made it feel truly different on Wednesday -- the reason every fan was on the edge of their seat and perhaps timing their bathroom, food, and beer runs differently -- was the pitcher on the mound in orange and blue.

Nolan McLean, who tossed 5.1 shutout innings in his big league debut on Aug. 16 at Citi Field and followed that up with seven innings of one-run ball against the Braves on Aug. 22 in Atlanta, took it up several rungs during a masterful performance that left the Phillies flailing.

While firing eight shutout innings, McLean allowed just four hits, walked none, and struck out six.

He had everything working so well and Philadelphia so off-balance that he was at only 59 pitches with one out in the seventh inning -- truly outrageous.

McLean's ball-to-strike ratio was elite, with 71 of the 95 pitches he threw going for strikes.

The stuff, of course, was what allowed him to lay the hammer down so emphatically. 

But there was also the mound presence (which has been evident since his first start), the confidence he displayed while deploying his arsenal (he said after the game that he's totally comfortable being more in the zone with New York's defense behind him), and the unflappability that seems to envelop him. 

As McLean toyed with the Phillies, whose batters twice had the bat fly out of their hands, he relied heavily on his dastardly sweeper, a four-seam fastball, a sinker that had a ridiculous amount of movement and topped out at 96.4 mph, and a curve that dropped off the table. He also mixed in his changeup and cutter for good measure.

He generated 13 swings and misses and got 24 called strikes, and only came close to walking a batter once. 

When McLean found trouble for the first time with runners on first and third and no one out in the eighth, he wiggled out of it, generating two short fly outs and a dribbler in front of the plate.

It was the kind of performance that makes you dream about what this Mets team can do, and obviously leaves you wondering just how good McLean can be.

Through three starts, McLean's numbers are eye-popping.

In 20.1 innings, he has posted a 0.89 ERA and 0.69 WHIP while allowing just 10 hits, walking four, and striking out 21.

And on Wednesday, McLean became the first MLB pitcher since Randy Johnson in 1988 to have a 3-0 record with 20+ innings pitched, 20+ strikeouts, and a sub-.200 opponents batting average through his first three career starts.

While McLean's dazzling display on Wednesday should make people look forward, his outing -- and how he's looked overall since arriving in the bigs -- should also leave you glancing back at two former Mets pitching stars who had similar qualities: Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom.

To be clear: McLean is not Harvey or deGrom. He will forge his own path and career.

But the way he's arrived as a dominant force seemingly close to a finished product is reminiscent of how Harvey looked in 2012 when he first took the ball in Arizona and how deGrom looked in 2014 when he made his first start against the Yankees at Citi Field.

Like Harvey and deGrom, McLean has taken it up a notch since arriving in the majors.

And like Harvey, it could be McLean who helps usher in a new era of homegrown starting pitching.

Jonah Tong, who put up video game numbers this season in the minors, will make his first big league start on Friday against the Marlins at Citi Field.

Then there's Brandon Sproat, who could be on track to join the Mets shortly after the rosters expand on Sept. 1.

But for now, the focus is rightfully on McLean, who has helped give the Mets the spark they desperately needed while taking the league by storm.

Phillies open 4-game set vs. Braves looking to move past New York woes originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A little home cooking is exactly what the Phillies need.

At least that’s the hope.

The Phillies are back at Citizens Bank Park for a four-game series against the Braves after being swept out of New York. They were outscored 25-8 in three games against the Mets, stretching their Citi Field losing streak to 10 games in the process.

Rather than create more separation between themselves and the second place Mets, the Phillies let their NL East rivals back in the race. They have a four-game lead with 29 to play.

“It gets back to the experience of the players,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Thursday when asked how his club will move past being swept in New York. “They just have to be themselves. Because who they are is pretty good. We have a really good group. Don’t try to do too much, just be yourself.”

The fact that the Phillies are a veteran team gives Thomson added confidence that they won’t dwell on one bad series.

“These guys have short memories,” Thomson said. “They’ve been through this for a long time. The last couple years, going into the playoffs we’ve had stretches where we didn’t play well, losing streaks and things like that… they come out of it.”

The Phillies’ home ballpark should provide a nice change of scenery. They have a 42-22 record at Citizens Bank Park this season, the fourth best home winning percentage in baseball.

Despite what transpired at Citi Field earlier this week, the Phillies are still in the driver’s seat in the NL East. The sense of urgency remains high.

“These guys want to win and they want to perform,” Thomson said. “They want to win a world championship. That’s what they play for. And a lot of these guys, they haven’t done that yet. They’ve been paid a great deal of money but they haven’t won so that’s on their mind, they want to get it done.”

This has been a lost season for the Braves, who begin this series in fourth place in the NL East with a 61-72 record. But Atlanta has played better lately – they’ve won 13 of their last 18 and scored a total of 23 runs in their last two games.

“They’re swinging the bats well, they’re scoring runs,” Thomson said of the Braves’ recent resurgence. “Their bullpen has been excellent. They’ve been playing well, they’re very talented.”

The Phillies have a 5-4 record against the Braves this season. This series represents the final four games of the season between these two division rivals.

Familiar foes

Aaron Nola will try to set the tone in Thursday’s series opener. This will be Nola’s 38th career start against Atlanta, his most against any opponent. It’s his third outing since returning from a three-month stint on the injured list.

The longest-tenured Phillie showed significant improvement in his last start, allowing two earned runs in six innings against the Nationals last Saturday. Nola’s velocity was up – his fastball topped out at 94.1 miles per hour and averaged 92.6, his highest in a start this season.  

What are the expectations for Nola against the Braves?

“Exactly what he did the last time,” Thomson said. “Command the fastball. He threw a lot more curveballs (in his last start) than he normally does but that was part of the gameplan and he had a really good one. I want to see him command his fastball, keep people off balance and just attack the zone.”

Nola needs four strikeouts to pass Cole Hamels (1,844) for the third most career strikeouts in Phillies history. Steve Carlton (3,031) tops the list, followed by Robin Roberts (1,871).

Nola will be opposed by Braves righthander Cal Quantrill, who was claimed off waivers last week. Quantrill made 24 starts for the Marlins this season, including two against the Phillies. He posted a 12.27 ERA in those outings with 10 earned runs in seven and one-third innings of work.

Red Sox should make a run at AL East crown after 7-1 road trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

A little over a week ago, after letting games against the Marlins and Orioles slip away in ugly fashion, it was fair to question whether the Red Sox could — as the saying goes — take care of business down the stretch.

The eight-game road trip that followed wiped away most of the doubt that might have cropped up. As a result, the Red Sox can now set their sights a bit higher than simply hanging on to a wild-card spot in the American League.

And if they want to get greedy, they can place the AL East crown in their crosshairs.

The Red Sox completed a four-game sweep in Baltimore on Thursday, eking out a second consecutive 3-2 victory. They outscored the Orioles 15-7 after outscoring the Yankees 21-11 in four games over the weekend.

Thursday’s win featured Garrett Crochet allowing two runs over six innings, Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela each making a game-changing double play, Romy Gonzalez delivering a clutch game-winning RBI in the eighth (against a righty, no less), and Steven Matz locking down his first save as a member of the Red Sox (and just the second save of his career).

“I feel great,” manager Alex Cora said postgame, per NESN. “It’s hard to do. To beat a team in the big leagues four times in a row, you know, it’s hard. To go 7-1, New York, Baltimore, against the pitching that we faced, it was a great road trip.”

With Toronto off on Thursday, the Red Sox were able to gain a half-game in the standings. They’re 3.5 games out of first place, having picked up 2.5 games since Aug. 19.

And while the Red Sox playing strong baseball will be their biggest asset moving forward, the schedule should be a major help, too.

While they will face NL Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes on Friday night, they should be able to handle the last-place Pirates in a weekend series at Fenway. The Pirates are 21 games under .500 overall, but they’re 20-46 on the road — a winning percentage of just .303. They’re 15-37 (.288) in road games not started by Skenes, and just 5-9 in his road starts.

The Red Sox will then host the perfectly .500 Cleveland Guardians for three games before heading out west to face the Diamondbacks (66-69) and Athletics (63-72).

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will have a rougher go of things. They’ll host the Brewers, who own the best record in baseball, before heading to Cincinnati to face the 68-66 Reds and then to New York to face the 73-60 Yankees. The Blue Jays then return home to face the AL-West-leading Astros (74-60) before finally getting a respite with a home series against the Orioles.

The Red Sox’ next series against a team that’s currently over .500 will come when they return from Sacramento … but they’ll facing the Yankees, against whom they are 8-2 this season. After that, they’ll host the A’s for three more games before heading to Tampa. They’re also 8-2 against the Rays this year.

All told, that’s 21 games where the Red Sox should go about 13-8 or 14-7. If they pull off the latter and if the Blue Jays go 12-10 over their next 22, it would set up a series in Toronto between the two teams with first place on the line, with Toronto’s lead cut down to a single game.

In that scenario, the Blue Jays may have the advantage for the final weekend of the regular season, as they’ll be hosting the Rays while the Red Sox will be hosting the Tigers.

But separating from specifics, the point is much simpler: Just making the playoffs is no longer the mission. The Red Sox now have a 96.2 percent chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs. They are making the playoffs, barring a 2011-style meltdown.

The more interesting story over the season’s final month will be whether they can actually push the Blue Jays to the final days of the season for the AL East title. Even if they end up falling a game or two short, making that push should set the foundation for an offseason of investment from ownership and the front office. It’ll be a lot easier for them to be convinced that a World Series run is possible next season if the current roster maximizes its opportunity this season.

With a 7-1 record on the road against divisional opponents over the last eight days, they’ve altered the outlook. What they do over the next seven series will determine what, exactly, that will mean.